Firmware Q & A

Customers Ask… The Tech Guy Answers

QUESTION:

Hi,I just bought my third duplicating Accutower from your company. My oldest Accutower has 7 Pioneer DVR 107D from back in August 2004. It is out of warranty. I previously updated the bios firmware to version 1.21. I need the instructions on how to update the individual drives to the latest firmware.

Sincerely,John

ANSWER:

Hi John,Thanks for the question, that is a good one. I can help explain the firmware update procedure for you but first I want to ask a question (even though you can't answer in my email). Are you having problems? Firmware updates on the drives is a great way to solve issues, but it is possible to create problems which is why I’m a charter member of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it” club (we’re having jackets made). I say this because you will need to remove each of the drives and individually connect them to a Windows based computer for the update, and if you are not having problems, you may be doing a lot of work for nothing. The Pioneer 107D burners in your tower were real workhorses and have been using the same firmware since version 1.22 back in October of 2005. In fact Pioneer has stated that the only improvement from version 1.21 to 1.22 is for Mitsubishi 8X media. If you are having different problems, you may need a different solution. Our tech support guys are great at diagnosing issues and can probably help you figure out other problems, don’t forget you get LIFETIME tech support when you buy an Accutower duplicator from us.

That being said let's forge on to the firmware update. To update your burners you will need to remove them from the tower and install them into a Windows PC. The key is to make sure you can see them in the Device Manager/Windows Explorer. Once you have access to the drive you can go the internet to look for the firmware update. My suggestion is www.cdrinfo.com under download/firmware you can drill down and find the update file, download it and close all your open applications. Find the downloaded file (which usually includes an updater utility) run the application and let it update the drive, you will get a message when the update is done. When it is done, shut down your computer, remove the drive, reinstall it into the tower and repeat the process. There, it's just that simple like lather, rinse, repeat; but with high end electronic components.

I suggest you do one drive at a time so that the cabling inside the tower stays as organized as possible, it is not terribly difficult to figure out but if you do one at a time you can be sure it all goes back in the same way.

Now, I explained the firmware update process for burners in your duplicator tower, but we didn't talk about the duplicator controller firmware. Usually the controller firmware will not need to be updated since its main purpose is to identify the burners and we make sure it is working before it leaves the building. However it is important to at least mention. The controller firmware is updated by downloading a small firmware file from us (tech support can email it). The update file is then burned to a CDR and put into the tower. Using the menu commands (slightly different on older controller models) you will select the update firmware option and Viola, the rest is done for you. I am going to re-iterate my previous point though about controller firmware; it is only necessary if you change to different burners, it doesn’t solve any problems with media.